Digitalization: An Overview of the Advantages and Disadvantages

Abstract

Collections are the heart of museums, born for anyone’s benefit. In order to ensure people to enjoy collections, museums operate as the stewards of items to preserve them for today and future generations. Due to the growing technological improvements and the advent of the Internet, collections have been made available for the audience’s benefit, both offline and online. The topic of digitization of collections and associated information is of the utmost importance inasmuch as it depicts a powerful tool for creating automated processes to manage collections for internal work purposes and disseminating culture within and beyond the museum walls. This paper aims to provide the reader with a general picture of the matter. For this purpose, it illustrates the development of digitization since its first steps, when cultural institutions started approaching the usage of computers in the 1960s. Then, this study focuses on the main advantages and disadvantages of digitization. For instance, this practice contributes to preserving items through digital surrogates. Additionally, collections are made widely accessible-albeit virtually- thereby democratizing them. Nevertheless, it is argued that digital content might trigger the loss of the ‘aura’, typically associated with seeing original items due to their uniqueness. Furthermore, digitization is a resource and time-consuming process whose outcome is prone to incurring the phenomenon of rapid ‘technological quicksand’. Finally, this study deals with the main revenue streams from digital content, such as merchandise and image licensing sale.

Special libraries’ odyssey into the 3D realm

“…This includes the production of tactile and interactive exhibits specifically designed to cater to the requirements of users with special needs. In addition, the utilisation of 3D technology has the potential to enhance the preservation of delicate materials through the generation of digital replicas, hence minimising the need for physical manipulation (Corona, 2023). Another advantageous aspect is the capacity to generate virtual tours and exhibits, enabling individuals to encounter scarce or distant content without the need for physical proximity.…”